I never saw the Beatles perform, but I did have a $4, 11th row ticket to their 1966 Suffolk Downs show.

My father made me sell it because "you'll get crushed in the crowd." I forgave him years later. And now, many more years later, the band remains in the news. The recent 50th celebration of their "Ed Sullivan Show" appearance drew in 14 million viewers, their complete back catalogue remains in print, and tribute bands are everywhere.

One of the first tribute groups, Rain, is set for three shows at the Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston on at 8 p.m. on Feb. 21 and 3 and 8 p.m. on Feb. 22. The band, formed in 1975 as Reign, played so many Beatles covers with their original songs, they finally decided to go with the tribute thing, reworked the spelling of their name, and added costume changes. Now they shape their concerts around a selection of 200 songs, trying their best to get the vocal mix to sound just like the old Beatles records. Tickets for the shows start at $38.75. Visit citicenter.org.

Can't get enough of the Fab Four? WGBH has been celebrating them all month, and wraps up with two cool TV shows on Feb. 27: "How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin" and "Paul McCartney's Live Kisses" at 10pm.

Still driving that train

There may not be as many Deadheads as Beatlemaniacs around these days, but there are still plenty of active players from the Grateful Dead on the scene. House of Blues in Boston plays host to "An Evening with Bob Weir & RatDog," keeping the Dead fire alive on both Feb. 24 and 25 at 7:30 each night. Tickets: $39.50 (standing) and $55 (sitting). Visit www.houseofblues.com.

He's got ‘Temptation Eyes'

Fans of the late, great TV show "The Office" will know Creed Bratton as the usually quiet, kinda creepy, possibly psychotic fellow at Dunder Mifflin who would sometimes pick up a guitar, and sometimes brag about once being in the band the Grass Roots. Well, guy who played Creed Bratton really is Creed Bratton, who really did play and sing with the Grass Roots. He comes to Johnny D's in Somerville, likely spinning a few comic tales, then pulling out his old Guild acoustic for a rendition of "Temptation Eyes." Showtime is 7:30 Tickets $25. Visit www.johnnyds.com

Marlborough musician

A local CD release celebration by is on tap when Marlborough's Jason Anick offers up some original tunes and choice covers (by Horace Silver, Django Reinhardt, Ornette Coleman) from his new "Tipping Point." Anick, who is now based in Boston and also teaches at Berklee, shows off his jazz chops on violin and mandolin in front of his quartet at the Regattabar in Cambridge on Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $18. Visit www.regattabarjazz.com

Page 2 of 2 - Cambridge Styles

Cambridge native Yani Batteau sings and burns up the banjo strings when she and her band the Styles let loose with what she calls some Americana Soul – meaning a bit of country and folk and bluegrass and mountain music all mashed up together – at the Backroom in the Burren in Somerville on Feb. 23. You'll likely hear the likes of "Ring of Fire" and "Your Cheatin' Heart." Corty Byron plays first at 8 p.m. Visit www.burren.com.

Please allow me to introduce myself. I listen to music, all the time, probably since hearing hearing Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett on my parents' kitchen radio when I was a kid. The first No.1 hit I remember on my own transistor radio was Jan & Dean's "Surf City." My first album purchase was "Freak Out!" by the Mothers of Invention; the most recent was "Virtuoso" by Joe Pass. My five favorite recordings – at least this week – are "You Can't Do That" by the Beatles), "Sometime Ago/La Fiesta" by Chick Corea, "Stroll On" by the Yardbirds, "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Los Indios Tabajaras, and "Busted" by Ray Charles. Among the many performers I've been privileged to see play live are, alphabetically, Dave Brubeck, the Byrds, Cheap Trick, the Doors, Bob Dylan, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Led Zeppelin, Liberace, Charles Mingus, Phil Ochs, the Raconteurs, the Rolling Stones, Jake Shimabukuro, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and the Who. I've been writing about music since 1986, got a great musical education by working in various record shops over the years, and I play acoustic guitar. In this new weekly column about music, I'll inform and entertain with a mix of artist interviews, recommendations for upcoming shows, opinions on new and old albums, and I'll keep my eyes and ears on the incredible local scene and sharing some memories from my musical past. Feel free to contact me at esymkus@rcn.com with feedback and suggestions. And be sure to follow @WickedLocalArts on Twitter and on Facebook.